Mesmerized
Antonio takes a moment to appreciate how lucky he and Lovino are to have their son.
Lovino was already asleep beside him. Antonio couldn't blame him; if it'd been him whom they had decided to stay home with the baby all day while still getting work done online, he would be exhausted, too. Lovino hadn't even taken off his day clothes, just slipped under the covers and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillows. The bags under his shut eyes explained it all. His two jobs for the day were done.
In Antonio's arms, their eighteen month old son had fallen asleep as well. He looked just like Lovino with his caramel skin, chocolate brown eyes (which were, of course, closed), and straight nose. Only a stranger wouldn't be able to see the resemblence at first. They would be too taken by the traits from their son's maternal side, the patch of tightly wound black curls on top of his head - very much unlike Lovino's sole stray - almond shaped eyes, and angular face. Either way, he was the most adorable thing Antonio had ever seen.
It didn't bother him that their son wasn't his biological child. When they had gone into surrogacy, he and Lovino had agreed this child would be theirs together no matter what. The biological father didn't matter one bit other than to go on the medical records. They would both come out of the process as a papá and babbo to a new little boy or girl. It had come to the point the two of them both sent sperm in to be used with a donor's egg. Lovino's had simply been the first to create a stable embryo to be implanted into the surrogate's womb. Antonio had still jumped for joy at the news of a successive implantation, along with his handsome husband, no hard feelings whatsoever that it wasn't technically his.
The only regret he had was that they would probably never have the chance to give their son any siblings.
Surrogacy was an expensive business, one they just didn't have the money available for. Lovino's wealthy grandfather, Roma, had contributed to the bill eighty percent before passing away. He had wanted to help his grandson have a child that much, so they wouldn't spend the next several years stressing themselves out with overtime. Now that their first baby was here, eating their money at a faster rate, it would be even longer period before they could save enough to possibly think of having another baby. Adoption was out of the question; while less so, it was also expensive; much more time-consuming; and potentially heartbreaking if they weren't allowed to legally adopt the particular child picked to live with them. And not to mention, their sexual relationship created another bump in the road of the process that neither had the energy to deal with.
Unfortunately, Roma couldn't come to their rescue again. His love affair with wine finally killed his liver during the pregnancy. He had never drawn up a will to authorize the inheritances he had long ago promised his family, so the state had taken it all. In his honor, though, Antonio and Lovino had given his name to their son as a middle name. Even without the will, he had always meant well, and, dead or alive, they couldn't thank him enough for what he helped create.
Alejo Roma Fernández-Vargas would almost certainly be their only child, their only son, their only not-daughter. And somehow, that made him all the more precious. Antonio couldn't say the lack of other children made him love Alejo more, because he didn't, and wouldn't love him any less if they did have other children, but the facts did strike home. Had they waited another year to begin the surrogacy process, they would have never had Alejo at all. He and his husband would still be nothing but husbands, scrounging every last bit they could in the hopes that someday it would happen. They would not be parents without Alejo.
As cheesy as it was to say, Antonio felt like he was their miracle baby. He finally knew what his own parents had felt while he was growing up, what overdramatic and laughably protective mothers in movies felt for their fictional children, what it was like to have what might have never happened and might not ever again. Alejo was his son just as much as he was Lovino's. He loved his little boy, from his caramel skin to his almond eyes. He would treasure him forever, even long after he became an adult and moved out.
Antonio would treasure him for who he was - a hyper sweetheart who drove his papá and babbo nuts, turned the cutest shade of cherry red when caught being bad, kissed his parents daily, was delighted to be held close by either, and had the absolute worst tantrums in history - and for existing in their lives. There were no regrets when it came to him specifically. Antonio knew for a fact Lovino felt the same. He saw it in the exhausted man's expressions every day. They both genuinely loved their son and wouldn't change anything about him for the world.
Yawning himself, Antonio picked up the remote from the bedside table to turn off the bedroom TV. Careful not to jolt either his husband or son, he leaned over Lovino to switch off the nearby lamp. With only the streetlight pouring in from the window, he gently Alejo next to his babbo underneath the covers, deciding he didn't feel like putting him in his crib in the next room tonight. Lying down himself and wrapping his arm over them, Antonio stole a quick kiss from Lovino's lips and pecked Alejo's temple goodnight.
Tomorrow was his day off from work. He couldn't wait to spend it alone with them, even it would entail chasing a chubby-legged devil squealing with laughter around the house with Lovino all day. Then again, that was exactly why he couldn't wait.
This is a short, fluffy piece without much conflict, as you can see. I've had Alejo and my own little surrogacy-family AU in my head since the beginning of July. Almost four months! And this is the first piece I can say I'm happy with. There's barely any conflict to make it exciting! But I still hope it made someone's teeth rot just a little. Hopefully, one day, I can write a whole (or multiple) stories with this little family. I even have their whole world set up, including friends, families, neighbors, and jobs. I just need a plot I'll stick with.
As usual, any constructive criticism is welcome. If anything is weird, off, or you have tips to make it better (the writing - nothing like adding more Spamano for sake of the pairing), feel free to point it out! Thank you for reading.